Dorm Storm

I don't know if this counts as a Humanities blog post, but I'm gonna try because it's volunteering. Anyway, this evening, from 7:30 until 9:00 P.M., I participated in the OSU Dorm Storm where I tried to get people to register to vote. I first met with the group at the Ohio Union near the Brutus Buckeye bench. We split the group up, and I went to do the ground floor of a dorm, but I had no luck. Although it started out awkward, things got better because, later, when I went outside, I got one person to register! I was so happy!! That, however, was my only success for the day. But, it was a pretty good experience overall.

Anyway, if anyone who is reading this post right now, please register to vote at OSU with your current address (your dorm address with your room #) if you haven't already. The form is really easy to fill out and you don't have to deal with absentee voting or any of those inconvenient stuff.  OSU will take care of everything for you, so yeah. Thanks!!

Too Good to Forget

      Although 8th Floor Improv's Facebook Show was on Friday, August 24, the show was too funny and clever to forget easily.  The show started with some long form improv, my favorite part of the show.  Starting with one word supplied by the audience, long form improv contains recurring scenes, character, and jokes.  For example, the actors returned to the same dysfunctional family and showed us their increasingly funny escapades.  One highlight was two friends hitchhiking in what turns out to be purgatory.

      The Facebook part of the was hilarious for everyone - except the girl who allowed the audience and  cast members access to her Facebook.  Along with "friend-ing" random people, the 8th Floor Improv team messaged a few strangers and got some interesting results.  The social media theme of the show included a "tweet-off" that was unsurprisingly hilarious.

      I'm so glad my roommates and I decided to pay the $5 ticket for the show.  It was so worth it and a great bonding experience.  We went to dinner first as well and made a whole evening of it.  It was a great beginning to college and a great way to spend an evening.

8th Floor Improv

8^th Floor Improv, one of the many groups at OSU dedicated to performing, had a show on Friday August 24. While I was initially unsure as to why it counted as an event for Humanities, I decided to go anyways because I needed a good laugh. It was a really fantastic show, with absolutely phenomenal improv skits.  I had a fantastic time, but when it was over I was still unsure of how exactly it pertained to the Humanities. As I thought about it more, I remembered that this particular show was advertised as “The Facebook Show.” The performers asked for an audience member to log into their Facebook, then started messing with it, ranging from adding people as friends, unfriending the volunteer’s mom to messaging strangers. While it was an absolute riot, it also focused on a major tenant of the Humanities: culture. Our modern culture is centered around technology, especially social media. 8^th Floor Improv took Facebook, which encourages physical isolation by making it easier to connect with people through a medium other than spending time together, and brought a group of strangers together in one room. But mostly it was really funny. 

1st Year Retreat

I was very excited to hear about and attend this retreat, due to the low ropes component especially.  Being a Girl Scout, I've done this kind of thing before, and it is always fun.  We left in the morning on two CABS buses, and had snacks on the way there.  Upon arriving, we left our stuff on the buses and were corralled into the facility's expansive yard.  We were told to find three people we didn't know, and introduce ourselves.  Then find five and do the same.  Then we had to find fifteen new people and introduce ourselves, fully believing we would disband once again and regroup elsewhere.  However, we came to find out that this was the group we would stay in throughout the retreat.  After a few get-to-know you activities, then began the teamwork games.  We were asked to all walk together in a line, with our feet glued (not literally) to the person's on either side of us.  We had to stand on a tablecloth and flip it over without anyone stepping off.  We had to get everyone through a spiderweb without jiggling it.  We had to squeeze everyone into a box through the top, sing a song, and then exit through the bottom in the same order.  We had to count to fifteen with our eyes closed, without saying a number at the same time (got it on the first try!).  We had to collectively walk a secret path and remember which way was correct.  And, my favorite, we got to do the trust fall - a 3(?)-foot platform from which a group member fell back like a tree into the arms of their group members.  I was pumped to do this one, having done it before, so I got do go first.  Eventually, our entire group stood up on the platform, even though some of us did not actually fall.  We pushed our boundaries and our comfort zones, and became pretty close for only knowing each other for a few hours.  We even got Ben to do it!  By the end of the day, our group was so supportive of each other, and the mood amongst us was much more open and upbeat than when no one knew each other.  All in all, it was a success!  Shout out to Liz's group!  You're all awesome!

I thought the first meeting was really helpful- and ice cream is always a plus! Can't wait to take wait to take part in all the fun activities and get to know new people :) See you all tomorrow!

Serving as a Buckeye

Yesterday, Megan and I went to Serving as a Buckeye in the Union. They showed us a video explaining exactly "Paying it Forward" means. Then four organizations came up and explained their purpose and why we should join their club/team/event. We heard from Buckeyethon, Paying it Forward, and Buck-I-Serv. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to make no-sew fleece blankets for Nationwide Children's Hospital. Overall, it only took about an hour of our time and I would definitely recommend freshman going next year! Although if the same groups are presenting next year, I may have to skip the beginning and just show up for the blanket-making :)

Ice cream, anyone?

So I've already made one rookie mistake. When I was signing up for classes at orientation I signed up for an evening class. Little did I know that it would clash with nearly every evening meeting for Humanities Scholars. Whoops.
Thankfully everyone I've talked to has been overly helpful and patient with this little freshman though!
So, because of that I missed the meeting portion of Wednesday evening.
I walked into an very crowded room at around 7:30 and found two of my roommates who quickly brought me up to speed on what I'd missed. Then, amidst orders to eat more ice cream and Ben calling out names, we found our mentors (although technically I guess they found us...) and had a great time swapping truths, lies, and stories of the summer, high-fiving over similar hometowns, and making jokes. Before we knew it, the room had cleared out and, being the last people to leave, we were obligated to eat three or four more cups of ice cream. Tragic, I know.
Over all it was a good deal of fun, and I can't wait to meet even more people the next time!

Humanities Mentor Meet-and-Greet

All four of us in the room are Humanities Scholars, but one of us went to Quiz Bowl, and another had an art class.  So my one roommate and I were to be the only two in the room to attend the Community meeting.  Somehow, 6:30 rolled around and we realized at 6:35 that the meeting started!  We rushed across the way to Royer, and fortunately arriving late is acceptable.  Signing in, we searched for a seat, but found none.  Consequently, we sat on the floor along the wall, not realizing we would be positioned right next to where Ben would be speaking form.  We took notes during the meeting for our MIA friends, and after the meeting ice cream was served.  There were so many cups of ice cream, and all sorts of flavors, that Ben insisted we take two (or three).  Then confusion abounded as mentors and mentees struggled to find each other.  After a while of mingling, our mentors found us and we sat down to chat.  It turned out to be great fun, as we played two truths and a lie, then talked about random and interesting things until we were the last ones to leave. 

Meet and Greet

I guess I'm not really sure how this blogging thing works but I should probably give it a shot. 
I had a blast at the Meet and Greet, I didn't realize it was going to be as fun as it was. It was definitely unexpected how well and easily that I got along with my peer group and mentors. We just all seemed to click really well which helped ease a lot of the anxiousness. 

Community Commitment

This morning I went to OSU's Community Commitment. I originally planned to go with a group I'm in but I couldn't find the members so the people in charge put me into a random group labeled A2. I had thought that immediately after that, the volunteering activities would begin. That, however, wasn't the case and I was bombarded by some speakers on stage talking. As they talked, I kept wondering: where are my group? Did I hear wrong and am I sitting in the right place? What are we going to do? After awhile, they soon called groups out to board the bus. It took some time and awkward standing and walking around until I finally found my group which consisted of two site leaders and 10 girls from a sorority. We boarded the bus with 3 or 4 other groups.

The volunteering part wasn't without some complications. The bus dropped us off second and then left us to an empty school building which, upon seeing, we had trouble identifying (it said middle school on the building but there was also a sign saying it was a high school). We wandered around and even inside, trying to find a person. Well.....it turns out that we were dropped off to the wrong location!! The school relocated to another building. So, for awhile, we were stranded there until another bus came, and even that we weren't sure WHEN it'll come IF it does comes. While waiting, the sorority girls joked around and made a "Help" sign for fun.

The bus came at 11:44 AM and we arrived to the correct school at around, my guess, 12 PM. We met with the custodian or janitor I think and soon we started doing some yardwork and raking leaves. I first raked and put the leaves in a bag by myself and then I joined some of the girls to work on the fence area. While they packed the leaves away there, I swept away the dirt into the fence. We stopped at around 1:10 and headed toward the Union. Overall, I left feeling good. A2 was nice. The janitor and the bus drivers were friendly. Our work, while delayed, still had a significant impact on improving the school's exterior. But, I was a little annoyed that Obama came to the Ohio Union while a bunch of people were volunteering.

Wow, this came out lengthy.